A public-facing code of conduct and compliance policies might sound controversial. After all, aren’t your policies proprietary? And what about waiving privilege? With many corporate compliance programs still relying on company intranet or PDFs to host their content, most of the world’s codes of conduct are locked behind firewalls. So, with those questions looming and a long-established precedent for keeping compliance content private, forget controversial — public-facing compliance content might sound downright scary.

The truth is, there are compelling business and legal reasons for making your compliance content viewable to the public. A quick Google search yields the codes of conduct for dozens of blue-chip companies like Coca Cola,  Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson —even  Google itself. With their vast legal teams and well-developed compliance programs, companies like these wouldn’t make such a progressive choice without good reason. 

Let’s dive into what that reason might be — and how a company might go about publicizing its compliance content.

Why should your code of conduct be public-facing?

The most obvious reason is that transparency is good for your brand reputation, especially after your company has already gone to so much effort defining its values and ethics. The many relationships your company forms — with shareholders, customers, third parties, and the public — require trust, and being transparent about your company values is key to establishing that trust.

But is an intangible value like reputation enough to outweigh the desire to keep your compliance program internal? Many well-known companies have made their code of conduct public as part of their commitment to ethical business practices. For example, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) provides access to codes of conduct for civil servants in OECD countries, which includes many public sector organizations that adhere to high ethical standards. 

Still not convinced? Here are four more reasons why it’s actually better to make your compliance content available to the public.

1. A public-facing code of conduct helps garner positive ESG Ratings

Socially responsible investing has been around for decades, but in the last few years, power players like BlackRock and Vanguard have led a market-shifting crusade to assess companies based on their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials. Merely saying that your company embraces ESG practices isn’t enough. The mission and policies of your ESG program must be documented — and made public. 

In a market where ESG considerations increasingly influence investment decisions, a public-facing code of conduct can significantly bolster a company's ESG credentials. By establishing clear, ethical benchmarks and committing to transparency, organizations not only comply with baseline transparency standards but also demonstrate a proactive approach to corporate responsibility.

2. It helps sway customers

It’s not just shareholders that can be swayed by a public-facing code of conduct. Consumers and business customers are equally motivated to buy from socially responsible, ethical companies. Nowadays, during business deals or RFPs, requesting a company’s code of conduct and policies has become a norm and often a legal requirement. 

A public-facing code of conduct can significantly influence customer perception and sway their decision-making in favor of a business. It’s one step to have your employees believe in your ethics and believe in your values, but consumers aren’t going to buy from you unless they buy into it, too.

3. Public-facing compliance content helps enable third parties

It’s becoming clear that when it comes to your compliance content, transparency is the key to all sorts of relationships — third parties and vendors included. If you’re a vendor, other companies want to see that you’re doing this, and they want to partner with companies showing their commitment. RFPs consistently ask about social responsibility and different things because they want to partner with companies with similar values. 

A public-facing code of conduct is a competitive advantage for the early stages of a potential business deal with a third party. When sourcing a third-party vendor, you might shortlist three  or four  vendors to engage with. Meanwhile, you could also check their websites to see if they have a consistent and public-facing code of conduct that aligns with your business ethics.

4. It helps you avoid enforcement actions

A public-facing code of conduct isn’t just about establishing trust across business relationships. It’s also beneficial if the time ever comes that you must prove to government officials that your company has a robust compliance program in place.

Keep in mind that if you’re investigated, one of the first documents a regulatory authority will ask for is not only your code of conduct and list of policies but how easily accessible they are for your employees and third parties. A top-notch code of conduct isn’t any good if no one knows where it lives and how to access it when making a decision. 

Digitalizing this information helps to show that you’ve made your code of conduct, policies, and other compliance content easy to find, navigate, and understand — for your employees, third parties, and anyone else your company does business with.

What does a public-facing code of conduct look like?

For some companies, publicizing their code of conduct is as simple as including a link to a downloadable PDF on their corporate website. But most who make the jump to public-facing compliance content prefer an interactive, portal-type experience. It makes the content easier to navigate and generates meaningful data about which content gets viewed, which global regions view specific content, and if any content is underutilized.

How do you prepare your code of conduct and policies for the public?

Start with a content audit. Certain policies might only apply to an internal audience, and you can be selective. For example, some of our policies at OneTrust are internal facing only.

OneTrust’s Roxy DeSantis-Nunally recommends evaluating which content should go public, and which can stay behind a firewall. “It’s almost like two document repositories and messaging. One is public-facing and employee content, and then there’s the more policy-level content, the nuts and bolts that might be proprietary that do need to be behind a firewall,” she says.

From there, think about how to make the content visually appealing, interactive, and digestible. User experience (UX) features like flip cards, expandable FAQs, videos, and more can bring your code of conduct to life in a way that a simple PDF can’t. After all, if your content is going public, you want it to shine.

Consider making the switch to public-facing compliance content

As ESG, social responsibility, ethics, and corporate values continue to come under greater scrutiny — and compliance regulations increase in scope and complexity — making your content available to the public is a way to earn trust and future-proof your code of conduct, policies, and more. 

On your way to making your code of conduct public-facing, be sure to: 

• Centralize your policies and code of conduct in one place 
   
• Familiarize employees with your organization's code of conduct
   
• Make it accessible by adding links or a dedicated web page to your site
   

• Add your contracts and regular public messaging for potential users

   

Ready to learn what it takes to create an effective code of conduct? See the six steps to demonstrating your company's commitment to ethical and values-based decision-making in this eBook.